Through All Seasons
by ThaliaLupin
Summary: A collection of HG oneshots. Romance, humor, and fluff abound! Reviews are appreciated. Rating for language and just to be safe. NOTE: Chapters 1 & 2 are PreHBP. Chapter 3 is PreDH.
1. Intimate Chaos

**Through All Seasons**

Ficlet 1:

**Intimate Chaos**

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in this ficlet. They all belong to JKR, especially considering that JKR does not post her writings online. I do own the poem "Autumn Dance" though. I wrote it a LOOONNNG time ago.

Author's Note: Mucho thanks to my unofficial betas Kellyn and Christelle. I wrote this story last year, but I've finally hit a typing frenzy. This is the first "chapter" in a collection of H/G stand-alone oneshots. Not all of them will be in 1st-person; I just wanted to attempt it. And since its 1st-person, Ginny is essentially narrating, k? Good. As for Ginny's talking to herself, or rather, thinking to herself, I swear, she's not schizophrenic. This story is especially for Christelle, in my quest to convert her from D/G to H/G.

I stood before my mirror and pushed a stubborn strand of hair back with a pin. I hate my hair. Firstly, it's bright red and sticks out in any crowd, and secondly, it has no wave or curl what-so-ever and flops right back out of anything I try to do with it. It's staying up fairly well at the moment, but I have so many pins embedded in my head that I'll go flying at the merest hint of a metal-attracting spell.

Oh! I suppose you'd like to know who I am, right?

My full name is Ginevra Rose Weasley, but you can't call me that, unless you're my mum and you're _really_ mad at me. But, seeing as you're not, call me Ginny. You already know my hair is red; I have freckles, which I hate. They aren't sprinkled cutely over my nose, they're everywhere! All over my forehead, chin, nose, cheeks, and neck. And they're all over the rest of my body, for that matter, but it's mainly the ones on my neck that bother me. I'm short, but not as short as my mum. I guess I'm not fat, actually, I'm pretty happy with my weight, but that doesn't mean you'll find out what it is. Even my eyes are boring. They're just plain brown, well, hazel, I suppose, if we're getting specific.

My family is crazy. I have six older brothers. All of my family has red hair as well. We're often having…financial problems. My dad works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifact office at the Ministry of Magic. My oldest brother, Bill, works in Egypt as a cursebreaker. My next oldest brother, Charlie, works with dragons in Romania. I'm not sure what's going on with Percy, as he's not speaking to us, the horrible, idiotic prat…oh, erm…yeah, Fred and George just opened up a joke shop, and Ron is still at Hogwarts with me. There you have it, the general state of the Weasleys at the moment.

You probably did care about any of that. But anyway, my hair was finally finished, so I did a last minute check of my trunk. Today, I was going back to Hogwarts for my fifth year. Everything was packed and ready, thankfully. Last year I had forgotten my charms essay and I had to have mum owl it to me.

"Ginny! Time to go!" Mum's voice carried up three flights of stairs.

You don't need to hear about the ride to the station, it was boring and Ron was being an idiot.

We were on the Hogwarts Express, looking for an empty compartment.

"Aren't you going to sit with Dean?" Harry asked.

Sorry, but yet another side note. Harry is Harry Potter, of course. He's one of Ron's best friends. The other is Hermione Granger, who's Muggle born, but probably the smartest of any of any of the sixth years. She and Harry came to visit for the last two weeks of summer holiday. I'm embarrassed to say I had a little hero-worship bit with Harry during my first few years at Hogwarts. I mean, he's Harry Potter! But I'm completely over that now.

Anyway, Harry just asked me if I was going to sit with Dean.

"What? No, why?" I looked at him curiously.

"Did you two break up?" He said cautiously.

"What the --- Oh!" Then it dawned on me. At the beginning of the summer, I had told them that I was going out with Dean Thomas, a boy in they're year, because Ron was being stupid about Michael, my ex-boyfriend. He was a git.

"No, I was never going out with Dean," I replied nonchalantly.

"What?" Ron and Harry said in unison. I had already told Hermione, she'd slept in my room during the holiday.

"Why did you tell us you were with him?" Ron looked confused, which is normal for him.

"Because you were being stupid about Michael," I said with, hopefully, enough finality to end the discussion.

"But-" No such luck.

"Ron we have to go to the prefect's meeting," Hermione, thankfully, interrupted Ron. "We'll see you two later," she grinned at me.

I mouth a quick 'thanks' at her before she turned away.

"So," Harry looked down at me. Since when has he been that tall? He hadn't grown _that_ much over the summer, had he? "Shall we find a compartment?"

"Sure."

We found an empty one near the back of the carriage.

"So," I started, thinking of a conversation starter. "How were the Dursleys?" The Dursleys are Harry's horrid muggle relatives, where he's forced to spend most of his summer holidays.

"They were better, after Moody's threats. They mainly ignored me, though they didn't lock up my school things this year."

"Oh. That's good then. Er…how are you?" I asked hesitantly. He knew I meant about Sirius. Sirius was Harry's godfather. He was killed last year.

"Fine," Harry said shortly. I raised an eyebrow at him. He gave me a slight glare. "It hasn't gotten any easier."

I nodded at didn't push the subject anymore. Instead I found myself staring into Harry's, as usual, captivatingly emerald eyes.

**Whoa! Hold on there! Captivating? You do_not_ think about friends having captivating eyes. And Harry's just a friend. Nothing more.**

**You wish it was more.**

**Do not.**

**Do too.**

**Do not! He's _just _a friend.**

**Yes, of course he is.**

"Well, uh…er…so…are you having nightmares again?" I asked suddenly as I noticed the shadows under his eyes.

He glared openly at me this time.

"Are you ever going to stop badgering me?" He shot back mockingly.

My temper flared.

"Well sor-ree! I apologize for caring enough about my friends to see if they're okay!" I angrily tugged a book of poems out of my bag and turned my back to him. Stupid defensive prat! Idiotic little… I heard Harry sigh.

"I'm sorry Gin'. I haven't been sleeping very well since Voldemort came back."

"A lot of us haven't slept very well since He came back."

Silence stretched softly between us for a few minutes. I yawned and Harry looked at me. I shook my head.

"I was up late, I left packing a little last minute."

"Oh." We lapsed into silence again. After a while, I turned to him.

"Harry, I--" I almost laughed. Harry was asleep. He looked like he needed it, so I went back to my book.

**Autumn Dance**

The grasses shifting to the beat,

Shaking maracas at my feet

A 'v' of geese fly in the sky,

Adding in their honking cry

The sunset painted, pink and red

Crickets chirping 'time for bed'

The wind comes in, they start to prance,

The leave are dancing their Autumn Dance

Here I am hardly breathing…

I opened my eyes slowly. It was almost dark outside the window. I was lying on something comfortable. And warm.

And moving.

I turned slightly and ---

**Oh. My. God.**

I was lying on Harry!

**Just a friend, hmmm?**

**Do shut up. It's ruining the moment.**

**Moment? You can't have 'moments' with 'just friends'. Ha! I was right! _You still fancy him!_ He was never just like Ron or Hermione to you!**

**Shut-- Oh my god!**

**Say that a lot, don't you?**

**Ron and Hermione! Had they seen us? Where are they?**

I looked around. Harry's arm had fallen over my waist.

**Damn.**

Ron and Hermione were no where to be found. And if anyone walked in right now-- Harry stirred and pulled me closer.

**Shit.**

His eyes opened a bit. He looked mildly surprised.

**Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit!** "Harry! I'm _so _sorry! I don't--"

Harry put his hand over my mouth.

"Shut up, Gin. I'm tired and I want to go back to sleep. So be quiet." He leaned down and gently pressed his lips against mine, and—

**Wow…**

**Wow.**

Author's Note: Hehehe. I heart H/G! Anyway, fluff-ness scale for the first chapter/ficlet. 1 sugarquill? 2? A whole box? As always, reviews are appreciated. The next ficlet should be up soon, it's almost finished. It might not be as fluffy as this one, but that'll be for you guys to decide. Ugh, btw why won't the editing thing for uploading allow me extra spaces or astericks? That would make things sooo much easier. Oh well. Thanks for stopping by! (:


	2. Bury the Hatchet

**Through All Seasons**

**Bury the Hatchet **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in this ficlet. They all belong to JKR, especially considering that JKR does not post her writings online. I do own a cockatiel, 3 society finches, and two very evil luvbirds. They would be good pets for Snape. Siriusly. (Wow. I'm such a nerd.)**

**Author's Note: Once again, candy canes for my looverly betas Christelle and Kellyn. Go look at their stories at _Christelle Capucine _or_ DreamsofSirius _! This is the second installment in this series, though, I wrote it first. Anyway. Thanks to all my reviewers! I'm sorry this took so long, school has been crazy and I have roughly 17 hrs of guard a week. I have one other story for this, that is written, but it's only a page and a half typed, so I'll probably revise that. My sister thinks I should do a companion piece to Intimate Chaos, another situation from Harry's POV, but I can't write from a guy's view. I have a roommate idea floating around in my head, whaddaya think? Sorry this is so long…**

**The** moon was reflected on the dark rippling lake; a pool of liquid silver on soft black velvet. The stars twinkled frostily as the wind waltzed on the snow drifts. December night chill crept slowly in through the open window…

"Ginny! Close the bloody window! It's December!"

Sixteen-year-old Ginny Weasley rolled her eyes, but followed her brother's not-so-kind request.

"It's not that cold, Ron."

"There's _snow_ on the ground. You're the only one here who doesn't have a sense of temperature."

"Ron, there's no such thing as sense of temp-"

"Enough, you two," Harry cut in, but he was smiling. Its nice to see him smile again. Harry had been pale and drawn since she'd first seen him in September. With Voldemort still steadily gaining power, the wizarding world was on edge. Dumbledore was still having Harry take Occlumency lesson's from Snape, and, as far as Ginny knew, his nightmares had stopped. And this weekend they were all going back to the Burrow for a, hopefully, stress-free Christmas holiday.

The portrait hole opened and, with a muffled squeak, a pile of books collapsed to reveal their friend, Hermione.

"You're not bringing _all_ those home on holiday, are you?" Ron looked incredulous.

"Of course I am. You should, as well; most of them are for our homework..." Hermione stacked some of the books on the end table beside her, and then reached for the few left on the floor.

"It's Christmas holiday!"

"There really isn't that much, Ron! If you'd just put your mind to it for a couple of hours…" Ginny grinned and turned away. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Harry doing the same.

"Chess?" she asked brightly, pointing to Ron's forgotten board.

**It** was the day before Christmas Eve and the Weasley household was packed. With eight Weasleys, plus Harry, Hermione, Pig, Hedwig, Errol, and Crookshanks, there was hardly any room to breathe. It was promising to be one of the best Christmases yet, but Ginny knew that there was a piece missing. Percy wasn't her favorite brother, but he would always stick up for her when the others teased her. Percy was still refusing to speak to the family because of their involvement with the Order. Ginny felt her face flush with anger just thinking about his last "letter". It was more of a memo, saying he wouldn't be coming home soon. Ginny's only consolation was that the great prat would get the longest tongue-lashing in history when he showed his face.

"Fred! George!" Her mother's enraged voice jerked Ginny out of her thoughts. She ducked into the hallway towards the kitchen, where her mother had been washing the supper dishes. She stopped short, fortunately, before stepping onto floor that was covered in shards of porcelain and glass.

"Mum! What happened?" But her shell-shocked mother had found the twins in the crowd and was about to explode.

"What was that? You two swore up and down that you'd keep the shop product away for Christmas!"

"Well, we must have missed that one mum," Fred replied quietly.

"It was experimental. Weasley's Wet-start Wonder Rockets. Now we know to work out a few-"

"If it was experimental, you should never have taken it out of the bloody shop!" Bill's angry rebuke cut through George's excuse.

Hermione crouched down and began muttering _Reparo_, stacking up the repaired crockery. Ginny felt the usual pang of being the only one left, unable to do magic outside of school.

"You could have killed her! What were you two thinking?" Her father's voice broke into the argument and the voice swelled. Ginny roughly pushed her way through the gathered crowd at the doorway, and ran upstairs. She couldn't stand any more fighting…

**Harry** quietly followed Ginny upstairs and knocked gently on her bedroom door.

"Ginny? Are you okay?" Harry frowned when no one answered. A chill wind swept around him and he looked to see that the window at the end of the hall was open. He walked over to close it when a small voice came from outside.

"Don't close it, please," Harry stuck his head out the window and looked around. Because of one of the burrows many additions, outside the window was a large ledge. Ginny was curled up on a blanket, staring up at the sky.

"Can I, er…sit down?" He asked awkwardly. She looked at him for a moment and nodded slowly. "Are you okay?"

Ginny sighed and leaned back against the wall. "I suppose I should be used to it by now."

"What do you mean?"

"Every year, they always fight. Whether it's as simple as who has to stay with who, or something like this." Ginny waved her hand vaguely below them. "I wish they'd stop for Christmas. I'm tired of fighting."

Harry stared at her, wondering if she had meant the double meaning in her words. But Ginny's gaze was lost, again, in the stars. The two sat in companionable silence for a little while, until snowflakes began drifting down and Ginny stood up stiffly. Harry followed and helped her fold up the blanket. She looked at him again, then smiled.

"Thanks, Harry. Goodnight." She ducked inside the window.

**Christmas** Eve dawned cold and white, and the Weasley household was full of noise and savory smells. Last night's argument was not mentioned; neither was Harry and Ginny's excursion on the ledge. The Harry was more than a little confused by Ginny's silence; he decided to wait for her to bring it up, and let himself get caught in the holiday spirit. He watched Hermione and Ron play chess, and then went and dug up his copy of "Flying with the Cannons".

It was around five-o'clock and night was quickly setting in when there was a knock on the door. Mrs. Weasley bustled down the hall and, after a moment, her shriek rang through the house. With a start, Harry was up, wand in hand, and running to the front of the Burrow. He arrived to the sight of a purpling, bespectacled, red-haired face struggling to get out of his mother's grasp. When Mrs. Weasley finally let go, Percy straightened, glasses crooked and ears pink, to look nervously at his gathered family.

"I hope there's enough room..." he mumbled, very interested in the tiling.

"Of course there is!" Mrs. Weasley began heading to the kitchen and muttering about extra potatoes.

"Welcome home." Mr. Weasley shook Percy's hand stiffly.

"You think that you can just walk back in?" An icy voice cut through the crowd. Everyone turned to look at Ginny, standing at the end of the hallway, her arms crossed defensively over her chest, and glaring at her older brother.

"You believe us now? Have you come to us for protection? Finally seen the bodies beneath the Dark Mark?" She spat, her face hardening.

"Ginny…I…"

"But," she spoke louder, drowning out her brother's feeble excuses. "I wonder why you didn't believe us before. Why you thought we made it all up? Why, after all Harry's _done_, you would think that _he_ made it up? That it was just a ploy to get attention. Even after your siblings _risked their lives_ you wouldn't believe us! Why was that? Oh, yes, because of power! Because, by betraying your _family_, you could get on Fudge's good side, and possibly get a job in the Ministry, which could be destroyed at any day! So don't just expect to walk in and be welcomed home with open arms, you horrible prat!" With that final, resounding statement, Ginny stormed upstairs for the second day in a row.

Today, Harry didn't even bother to knock on Ginny's bedroom door. He went

Straight down the hall and climbed onto the ledge. Ginny was huddled in a corner, scowling as tears ran down her cheeks.

"I hate him." Her whisper dripped deadly poisons of betrayal, and constrained worry.

"No, you don't," Harry replied after a moment. "You missed him. You were worried about him. He left because he didn't want to believe Voldemort was back. Percy was alive during his first reign. We've only heard the stories. Percy lived them." Ginny was silent, but her tears had slowed.

"Five-year-olds can be very perceptive." Harry smiled hopefully at Ginny. The corners of her mouth twitched, but Ginny seemed determined to stay in her bad mood. Harry thought, momentarily, of tickling her, but he quickly banished away that idea.

"It's Christmas, Gin. Time to forgive and forget. People make mistakes. It's just that Percy's used up about half of his allotted life-time amount."

"I can't forgive him just like that!"

"Sure you can, he's you brother."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "And your point is?"

"He's the 'missing piece'. No one's said anything but you can feel it. Even with all these people here, something was missing…"

"You're not going to shut up until I go down and apologize, are you?" Ginny was torn between amusement and annoyance. And annoyance was winning.

"I never said you had to apologize," Harry grinned at her. "But you _do_ have to go down and enjoy Christmas."

"This is the first Christmas in years that we've all been at home. Usually Bill and Charlie can't make it."

"All the more reason to go back downstairs."

"Maybe I _should _forgive him, if only in the spirit of Christmas."

Harry laughed. "You know you should…" Ginny looked at him hesitantly. Then her resolve hardened.

Harry watched her curiously. She leaned in and her lips gently met his. Harry's mind went blank. A moment later, she had climbed into the hallway. Her voice floated over her shoulder.

"Merry Christmas, Harry."

Fin

**I'm really sorry this took so long! Again many thanks to Christelle and Kellyn! Reviews are appreciated. Flames will be used for hot cocoa.**

**Embyr**


	3. One Golden Day

**Through All Seasons****  
One Golden Day**

**Disclaimer****: All characters in this fic belong to J.K. Rowling. I am merely playing in the wonderful world she has created for us.**

**Author's Note****: Well! I must say, this is the least planned bit of fan fiction that I've ever written. After finishing my reread of HBP before DH's release, I felt an incredible urge to write my version of the wedding before the last book came out. And here is the product, started and completed in three days, proving to be my most insatiable plot bunny yet, as well as my first time writing from Harry's point of view. It was kindly and hurriedly beta'd by my sister **_**RogueTwin**_**. Many thanks to her. Enjoy!**

Harry took a deep breath, even before he opened his eyes to blink in the bright sunlight filtering through the trees. He stood still for moment as the others moved toward the back door of the Burrow, trying to shake the constricted feeling in his chest left over from Apparating. He could feel his spirits start to lift. From the crooked silhouette, to the mess of Wellingtons on the doorstep, the Burrow was exactly as they'd left it last Christmas. There was something extraordinarily comforting in the sight of those boots.

"Harry?" Ron's voice broke into his thoughts and Harry looked up at his friend, who was waiting uncertainly on the threshold. "You coming?"

Harry nodded and followed Ron inside, shifting his bag higher on his shoulder. He was overcome by the flurry of movement and bodies that greeted him, after spending so many days avoiding the Dursleys while he, Ron and Hermione had spent his obligatory time in his aunt's house. He was quickly engulfed in a warm hug from Mrs. Weasley and saw Hermione and Ron receiving similar embraces from what seemed like most of the Weasleys' extended family. Mr. Weasley was introducing Hermione to the tall man on his left while a tiny, wizened witch with flyaway white hair was pulling Ron towards her. He was bent nearly double and flushing a brilliant red as the woman planted a rather wet-looking kiss on his cheek. Harry looked up with a grin to find who else had seen the display. His gaze found a pair of chocolate eyes that were clearly as amused as he. Harry moved toward her automatically. Ginny was barely visible between the shoulders of her brothers and uncles and Harry stopped short when he finally reached her. He felt Ron and Hermione come up behind him, but he could do nothing but stand and drink in Ginny's appearance. Her vivid hair fell about her shoulders as usual, with the front pieces tucked behind her ears. But that was the only regular aspect of her appearance. She was dressed in a long, shimmering gown. The fabric fell smoothly over her body to pool at her feet. She'd gathered it up in her hand on one side, her bare foot was visible. It was cut square across the front, with two straps looping over her shoulders. Harry nearly gaped at her as the beast within him stirred. For her part, Ginny stood resolutely before him, watching him look at her, unabashed. Harry was broken from his reverie as Hermione rushed forward to hug Ginny, emitting an un-Hermione-like squeal.

"Oh, Ginny, are those your bridesmaid robes? They're beautiful! There's more of a muggle influence then I would have imagined..." Hermione turned Ginny a little from side to side, looking over the pale gold robes.

"Apparently it's more influential in France," Ginny shrugged, but smiled at the compliments. Before she could say anymore, a small pale-haired girl came down the hall behind them.

"Ginny, Fleur says we must feenish zhe feetting," Gabrielle Delacour was dressed in the same robes as Ginny and looked older than her eleven years. "She ees very worried. Zhe wedding _ees_ tomorrow." Her blue eyes found Harry and she smiled excitedly. Before she could say anything, her sister's voice echoed from the hall.

"Gabrielle! Ginny! Zhe robes must be feenished tonight!" Ginny rolled her eyes, but Gabrielle scurried back, shooting one last glance at Harry and the others over her shoulder.

"Oh alright! I was just saying hello..." Ginny muttered, not loud enough for Fleur to hear. With a small wave, the redhead turned and headed toward the other room. At this point Hermione let out an appreciative gasp and Harry's beast reared up with a roar. The straps on Ginny's dress looped over each shoulder and back under her arms, leaving a bare, freckled expanse of skin until the fabric wrapped around from each side to meet at her lower back.

"Harry?" Mrs. Weasley's hand on his shoulder stopped his stare and he turned back to the mass of redheads with Ron and Hermione. "Are you hungry? Come, meet everyone. This is Auntie Muriel. Yes...yes, Harry Potter. No...erm...she's a little hard of hearing...its Harry! Harry Potter! Ah, here, Harry, dear, come meet Arthur's brother..." In a short time, Harry had met what seemed like all possible living members of the Weasley clan, though he had to be introduced to Aunt Muriel twice, with Mrs. Weasley shouting very loudly both times. Needless to say, he was happy when most of the people dispersed to the living room or outside and he, Ron, and Hermione were finally able to sit down to a late lunch, while Mrs. Weasley filled them in on the most important happenings in the last two weeks, before going to check on her other houseguests. They hadn't gotten up before they heard Fleur walking the seamstress to the door and Ginny came to join them, now wearing normal clothes. She slumped into the seat across from Harry, looking exhausted.

"Long afternoon?" Ron asked innocently, taking in his sister's demeanor.

"No, not at all," She shot back, voice dripping sarcasm, before launching full-force into a tirade she had clearly been building up to all morning. "Everyone's making such a fuss. It's the final fitting! That seamstress has to sew a single seam tonight, and that's only because Gabrielle changed her shoes last minute. Honestly, you'd think the robes hadn't even been started, the way they're carrying on. And you thought Phleg-_Fleur _was bad. Just wait until you've been around the lot of them all at once. They get worse as they get older. Gabrielle is charming compared to her mother. Even Mum can't stand to be around them anymore, that's why she stayed in here making introductions."

"We haven't met Fleur's parents yet," Hermione pointed out, after nodding sympathetically throughout Ginny's rant.

"Well dearest 'Maman' can't possibly remove herself from her daughter's side. Not even to be polite and say hello...Monsieur Delacour isn't around much. He's using his time here to make more contacts within our Ministry," Ginny sighed and shook her head. "I should try to be nicer. They are family, now." Ron gave a derisive laugh.

"If they're like you say-" But Ginny hushed him with a loud hiss as several voices came closer and three identical figures enter the kitchen. Fleur immediately swooped down upon them, kissing Harry and Ron on each cheek and smiling at Hermione with more warmth than Harry had ever seen.

"'Arry! Ron! 'Ermione! I am glad zhat you 'ave arrived. Please," She stepped back, gesturing to the pair behind her. "I would like to eentroduce my muzzer, Angelique Delacour." Madam Delacour was, though Harry had barely thought it possible, even more beautiful than her daughters. Her hair was a thick curtain of silver, falling to her hips. Her robes were elegantly cut in a rich, blue fabric. She gave a stately nod to each in turn, Harry got the impression that her English was not at all near her daughters' level. He tore his eyes away from her and saw Ginny shift in her seat and heard Ron's grunt of pain as she kicked him under the table. Ron's expression was similar to the one he had worn at the Quidditch World Cup; both Ginny and Hermione were shooting him sour looks. But Harry could hardly blame him.

"And, of course, you 'ave already met my seester, Gabrielle," Fleur continued as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The small girl looked around at them with excitement; Harry knew she was remembering the time he had saved her and Ron in the Triwizard Tournament during his fourth year. The three women joined them at the table, albeit more stiffly as their age increased, and Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny listened as well as they could as Fleur bubbled happily about her wedding tomorrow. They excused themselves as politely and as soon as they could, stating their wish to settle their things before the family dinner that night. Ginny followed them upstairs.

"Mum's put all your trunks in the attic, there's no room for them anywhere else. Best to just grab what you'll need for the next few days," Ginny informed them after explaining the sleeping arrangements. Harry felt a surge of guilt at her words, but didn't say anything. He couldn't tell Ginny that they would only be staying for the wedding day. He had already decided with Ron and Hermione to leave the morning after the wedding, when all the extra guests would be having a lie-in after the late-night celebrating. It would be the easiest time. But he couldn't bring himself to say anything to her. Not just yet. Hermione and Ginny left them at Ginny's room on the second floor. Harry followed Ron up to his room, once again feeling a wonderful sense of comfort from the brilliant orange Cannons posters plastering Ron's walls.

Ron collapsed on his bed as Harry sat on his cot. The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence. There wasn't much to say. They had had weeks at the Dursleys to discuss what awaited them after tomorrow. Harry knew his friends were as intent as he was on enjoying the wedding. It was a day to be happy, to forget what awaited them. A last golden day.

The morning of the wedding dawned warm and clear. Harry and Ron were woken at nine by Ginny, who ignored Ron's protestations as she dragged them downstairs. They were soon joined by Hermione and the four were set to work helping Mrs. Weasley with the last minute preparations. The next few hours were a hectic blur, often interrupted by a frantic Fleur, and it wasn't long before Ginny left to get ready.

"Oh, go on, you three," Mrs. Weasley ushered them towards the stairs. "Hurry and get ready, we can't be late!" A quick change of clothes and an apparation later, Hermione and Harry arrived at the reception room with the Weasley family and the Delacours (for Harry could only assume the dark-haired man beside Madam Delacour was Fleur's father). The musicians were setting up on the raised platform in front of a small dance floor. Round tables were set around the opposite side, already weighted down with flatware and cutlery. Mrs. Weasley had enlisted most of her children to help her put out the platters of food, casting warming or cooling charms, depending on the dish. Unrelated guests were beginning to apparate or Floo in from the fireplace in the corner and Mrs. Weasley bustled over to direct guests down the hall, where the ceremony would take place. Amongst the bands of foreign wizard and witches and loitering groups of what seemed to be Bill's co-workers and former classmates, Harry saw various familiar faces: Remus Lupin and a pink-hair Tonks seemed to have arrived together, Kingsley Shacklebolt was dressed in deep green robes and talking with a short, dark-haired witch whom Harry had seen at the Dursleys' the summer before his fifth year. Before Harry could move toward any of them, Mr. Weasley cleared his throat and announced loudly from beside the door.

"If everyone could please make their way down the hall," He called over the crowd, gesturing behind him. "We're about to begin." Harry found Ron and Hermione and followed them in to take theirs seats in the sea of brightly colored robes. The center aisle was a length of white fabric, scattered with petals.

Bill and Charlie, the best man, entered from the side and stood, in Bill's case, nervously, at the top of the aisle. Both were dressed smartly and the groom's hair looked freshly trimmed, though it was still pulled back in a ponytail. Music began to play, though there was no visible source, and all heads craned around to see the double doors swing open. Fleur stepped forward, a vision in lacy cream, topped with the Weasley tiara. Her robes were cut similar to Ginny's, though Harry thought it had to be held up magically, since there were no straps. Her skirt was full and elaborate, with a long train. Ginny and Gabrielle walked slowly behind her, a matched pair, bending every so often to smooth the train and to rearrange it when Fleur turned and was handed off by her father. Gabrielle and Ginny took their places to the left, holding their small bouquets.

For all of Fleur's wedding-glow and Veela beauty, Harry hardly glanced at her. Instead, his eyes were drawn towards Ginny. Her gown was the same as before, but her fiery hair had been twisted back into an elegant knot. When she turned her head, he saw that tiny blossoms had been tucked into the twists, white in Ginny's hair and pink in Gabrielle's, to match the bridal party bouquets. She turned back and Ginny's eyes met his. She flashed him a small smile, before turning back to the pulpit. Harry could tell that the ceremony was different from a Muggle wedding, there was a lot of wand movement, but he couldn't quite hear what was being said. While Hermione was clearly enthralled, he soon lost interest, and found himself, once again, studying Ginny.

The music started once more and Harry looked up in time to Bill and Fleur kiss and turn to walk down the aisle as husband and wife. Ginny, Charlie, and Gabrielle followed the pair through the doors before the beaming wedding guests rose and began to make their way to the reception, chatting happily and offering congratulations to the families.

The musicians had already begun to play, softly, as the guests filed in to find their seats and begin helping themselves to the bountiful platters of food. Toasts were made to the couple (though Fred was quickly pulled back into his seat by his mother when he stood to speak). When the guests' glasses were nearly empty, things settled down and everyone turned back to their food.

It was after the first dance, while the musicians were playing a lively imitation of a Weird Sisters' song. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the only ones left at their table, as Remus and Tonks, their tablemates, has stood to mingle and dance with the other guests.

"Care to dance, Harry?" Ginny stood in front of him, having finally escaped from Auntie Muriel's company. Harry took a deep breath.

"Ginny..." He began, trying to be polite. But they couldn't do this. Everyone that he had cared about-

"It's just a dance, Harry," Ginny held out a hand and flashed him a small smile, as though she could read his thoughts. She led him onto the dance floor as the band struck up a slower song and wrapped her arms around his neck. Harry was surprised how comfortable he was in the silence between them and, after a moment, Ginny moved closer to rest her head on his shoulder. As she did so, he felt her lips brush against his neck, though he couldn't tell if it was intentional. Harry was very aware of how much he had missed being with her, holding her close.

"We're leaving tomorrow." He said bluntly, trying to break out of his own sentimentality. He couldn't afford to get this close again. Ginny raised her head and looked him straight in the eye. Harry stared straight back and he could tell she wouldn't argue. He added, more softly, almost apologetic. "We'd decided it...before."

Ginny didn't say anything, simply laid her head back on his shoulder. He remembered that today was a day to be enjoyed. One without worry. And it had been. He knew that Ginny did understand and that she would be at the kitchen table when he, Ron, and Hermione came downstairs tomorrow morning. They could continue on to Godric's Hollow in confidence. He knew she would be waiting.


End file.
